| Josh Shapiro | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2012 Serving with Bruce Castor and Leslie Richards |
|
| Preceded by | Joe Hoeffel |
| Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 153rd district |
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| In office January 4, 2005[1] – January 3, 2012 |
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| Preceded by | Ellen Bard |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 20, 1973 Kansas City, Missouri |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Lori |
| Residence | Abington, Pennsylvania |
| Alma mater | University of Rochester, Georgetown University |
| Occupation | attorney, political assistant |
| Religion | Jewish |
Josh Shapiro (born June 20, 1973) is a Democratic politician. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 153rd legislative district, from 2005 to 2012. He currently serves as a member and Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners.
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Shapiro was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Rochester in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. After college, he moved to Washington, D.C. and became a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Carl Levin. He then worked as a senior advisor to U.S. Representative Peter Deutsch (1996–98) and to U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli (1998–99). From 1999 to 2003, he was chief of staff to U.S. Representative Joe Hoeffel.
Shapiro received his Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University in 2002 and, in addition to his role as a state legislator, works as an attorney with Stradley, Ronon, Stevens, and Young. He lives in Abington with his wife and four children. He has a brother, sister and several nieces and nephews.
In 2004, Shapiro ran for the seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives held by Ellen Bard, who had run unsuccessfully for Congress. It was the same seat held by his former employer, Congressman Hoeffel, from 1977 to 1985. His GOP opponent was Jon Fox, who represented Montgomery County in Congress from 1995 to 1999. Shapiro defeated Fox in November with 54% of the vote.[2] He is only the second Democrat to represent the Abington area since World War I.
He won re-election against a lesser-known opponent, Lou Guerra, taking 76% of the vote.[3] In 2007, Shapiro was named Deputy Speaker by incoming Speaker Denny O'Brien after Shapiro helped broker a deal to bring him into office.[4][5]
In the 2008 Democratic primary, Shapiro ran uncontested. Additionally he won a write-in campaign on the Republican side to ensure that would win re-election without major opposition in November. Shapiro was said to be considering a run for the United States Senate before Arlen Specter announced he had joined Democratic Party.
On January 31, 2011, Shapiro announced his candidacy for the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners after Hoeffel, whom Shapiro had succeeded as a state legislator, announced he would be retiring.[6] Shapiro, along with fellow democrat Leslie Richards, won the majority for Montgomery County, something that has never happened in the county's history. He was sworn in on January 3, 2012.